The 51s took an early lead in the first on an RBI single by Zach Borenstein, then got three more in the fourth on RBI doubles by Evans, Monell and Asche to tie the game at four.

They took the lead in the sixth on another RBI double by Nido in his second game since his demotion. Asche, who is off to a slow start in his new organization, then hit a two-run homer to break out and put the 51s up 8-4. One of the other newcomers, Kivlehan, got his first two hits as a member of the Mets organization.

The recently signed Copeland made his first start with the 51s after posting a 1.74 ERA in two games with the Rumble Ponies. He was mediocre, but was effective enough to get through six innings and get the win.

Purke continued to walk too many guys and is still yet to find any kind of consistent success down in the PCL. Peterson has come back down to Earth after a dominant April, but pitched nicely last night to get a five-out save, his second save of the year. Despite not being a power pitcher, he now has an impressive 30 strikeouts in 20.2 innings.

The Rumble Ponies offense was able to push across five runs on twelve hits in the victory. Alonso had been in a bit of a slump, as he was hitting just .215/.371/.250 over his last nine games, but had a good bounce-back game with two hits. McNeil continues to impress and show a surprising amount of power, as he has 16 extra base hits in 25 games. Tim Tebowhad three singles in the game and is now hitting .261/.340/.435 on the season.

Church has gotten off to a rough start to 2018 and had given up six earned runs in each of his last two starts, but he was in complete control in this game. He needed just 87 pitches to get through 6.1 innings while striking out a season-high six batters. Torres pitched one inning in relief and allowed only his second run of the season. Bashlor closed out the game with a scoreless ninth inning.

Facing a tough challenge against the Tigers 2017 1st round pick and top-100 prospect, Alex Faedo, St. Lucie’s offense rose to the occasion, exploding for 11 runs on 16 hits. Eight of the runs came against Faedo, who was knocked out of the game after the second inning.

Lindsay had been struggling at the plate to hit for power and dealing with a nagging injury prior to this game, but he had a huge night, smacking three extra base hits and driving in four runs. Lindsay has now reached base in 12 of 13 games with a .393 OBP in that span.

Ian Stromalso had three hits in the game before leaving after getting hit by a pitch.

Taylor had his best start of 2018, holding the opposing lineup to just two runs and four hits, while also keeping his pitch count low enough to make it through six innings for the second straight start. Pobereyko has thrown 10.1 straight scoreless innings over his last eight appearances. Nogosek continued his dominance out of the St. Lucie bullpen as he struck two batters in a perfect ninth inning.

Columbia’s offense had a big night, scoring eight runs on twelve hits. Every player in the lineup reached base at least once and Blake Tiberiwas the only player without a hit. Winaker has been hitting very well over the last week, as he has 10 hits in his last 23 at bats with two home runs and seven walks.

Cavallaro had his worst start of the season, but that speaks more to his dominance prior to this outing than his performance in this game. Even though he pitched well and got the win, it was the first time this season that he allowed more than two earned runs or more than two walks.

Villines was outstanding in relief, as he recorded six out of seven outs by strikeout. While his ERA might now be pretty, Villines does have a remarkable 30:3 K:BB ratio in 2018, indicating that he may be pitching better than his stats would indicate.

I fell in love with the Mets during the 2006 playoff run and became obsessed with the Mets minor league system while looking for a brighter future during the 2009-2014 era. I hope to provide interesting analysis of the minors and am excited to have the opportunity to write for MMO and MMN.